Crossed Genres announces its first short story anthology — and "Cold" will be in it!

This is some news I’ve been hanging on to for a few days, but now Crossed Genres has announced it, & I’ve been given the go-ahead to blare it out from the rooftops too. (It’s mighty cold on those rooftops, I must say — but isn’t cold what “Cold” is all about?)

When I decided to submit a piece for Crossed Genres’ LGBTQ issue, I just figured it was a good way to begin changing gears from my summer & early fall of being dominated by politics. (Chiefly, the battle to gain equal protection under the law for LGBTQ citizens of & visitors to Anchorage — a battle that, once again, we initially won, only to see the measure vetoed by a conservative mayor. But I’ll say no more about that right now, out of respect for my blood pressure.)

It had been a long time since I’d submitted anything for publication — my main writing activity for the last few years has been on novels-in-progress that I was continually distracted from by events in life, & then by aforementioned politics. So you can imagine my delight when I checked my inbox on October 3, just three days after submitting “Cold,” to find a message from Bart Leib accepting it for publication. Maybe you can also imagine my further delight when a few days later I got an email from Kay Holt, telling me that Crossed Genres would be publishing a anthology featuring one story from each of the 12 issues published in its first year — & asking to use “Cold” to represent the LGBTQ issue.

I said yes, of course. I wrote back to Kay, “Whoa, between you & Bart, you’re making me very happy to be back in the saddle writing again!”

February is the month of my birth: usually my favorite birthday present is being able to go out to catch my bus after work & finding the Sun still above the horizon. But this year? — The first Crossed Genres anthology will be released on February 1, 2010. The anthology will be published in trade paperback format (6″ x 9″), and will also be available in various digital formats.

Better yet, Crossed Genres is offering a preorder special: if you preorder a copy anything this month (November 2009), you’ll not only get 10% off the regular price of the anthology, but you’ll also get a free 1-year online subscription to Crossed Genres. That’s $9 for a $20 value! Go here for more details and to place your preorder.

Here’s what will be in the anthology — one story from each of the first 12 issues: